Under Amour and HTC announced at the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) that they have been in cahoots, ironing out a strategic partnership. A fitness tracker that benefits from HTC's hardware know-how and Under Armour's expertise in athletics, the Grip -- or the re grip -- emerges as the first product borne of that partnership.
HTC has been referring to the new smart band as both the re grip and the Grip. The Grip, priced at $199, is expected to arrive at some point in the Spring of 2015 and there doesn't appear to be a second product as of now.
Its passive-matrix, organic LED (PMOLED) display is curve and its band is made of what HTC describes as "breathable" material. While it may be comfortable, its band isn't quite an all-day tracker because it lacks sleep monitoring abilities as of now.
The Grip features an integrated GPS transponder so that wearers can leave their phones behind during their runs, unless they want to listen to their personal soundtracks and take selfies of milestones. It's also water proof, capable of being submerged as far as a meter down for half an hour
While the Grip isn't tied to a smartphone, the fitness tracker plays nice with both iOS and Android devices. Wearers can receive notifications from their smartphones, change songs, view messages and send responses to messages.
The Grip runs on Under Armour's Record app. The Record app collects and sorts fitness stats, such as distance traveled and calories burned, for a wide range of activities such as cycling, walking and gym time.
Under Armour's Record app also has a social element, with its community leaderboards and friend challenges. Coworkers, for example, can connect to share their activity levels to the group's leaderboards.
The Grip is just the first of many health-centric tech HTC and Under Armour plan to release, according to their announcement back at CES 2015. HTC CEO Peter Chou said mobile technology has been especially influential in the lives of consumers in recent years and the strategic partnership with Under Armour produce a range of product to help people gain more insight into their own lives.
"By joining forces with Under Armour, one of today's most exciting and ambitious leaders in empowering athletes, we are taking the first step on this journey and will provide consumers with a range of connected health and fitness products and services that no other brand can match," Chou stated
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Spring must be near, because HTC's partnership have been bearing a lot of fruit recently. During the same weekend it announced the Grip, it also revealed that it has been partnering with Valve, a video game publisher and distributor, to produce the Vive - or its it re Vive? The Vive is a virtual reality headset that will rival Facebook's Oculus Rift.
